The attack happened at the child's grandfather's mobile home on Garrett Road in Simpson County.

Sheriff Kenneth Lewis said one of the dogs ripped open the backdoor and jumped on the little girl. The other two dogs dragged the girl into the back yard and began mauling her, Lewis said.

The grandfather, who was identified as Donald Mullins, and his girlfriend, Rita Tompkins, rushed to the girl's aid.

The dogs then attacked Mullins and Tompkins, and Mullins fatally shot two of the dogs.

"These dogs don't turn you loose when they grab you," Lewis said. "They can drag a big man out of a place. It's not just little children. A guy your size or my size -- they can grab him."

Officials said 10 pit bulls were at the home at the time. The surviving eight dogs were seized Thursday morning by animal control officers.

"He said he raised these three dogs since puppies and they hadn't shown any aggression toward anybody," said Sheriff Kenneth Lewis. "Of course, that's what every story says. 'They have never shown any aggression toward anybody.' Well, (Wednesday) they did."

Mullins and Tompkins were arrested on child endangerment charges. They bonded out of jail and went to the hospital.

Charlie Morton pitched five-hit ball for seven innings, Neil Walker hit a review-aided home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 Sunday in a testy game in which benches cleared after stars Andrew Mcutchen and Brandon Phillips were hit by pitches.